Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Review

Canada is known for many things. Hockey. Canadian bacon. Hockey. Maybe some other stuff too.* But whisky… well Canadian whisky doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation amongst whisky lovers worldwide. But that’s not to say that Canadians don’t make good whisky. They often do. Unfortunately sometimes they also add stuff to their whisky that makes it… not so good. Canadian law allows for whisky to include up to 9.09% of other ingredients in their whisky, a rule that causes many whisky snobs to thumb their nose at whiskies from Canada (even though many Canadian whiskies do not actually contain additives). Often referred to as “rye” even though it’s not actually rye whisky by US standards (which would require it to be distilled from at least 51% rye), Canadian whisky also tends to be lighter in style than American bourbon and rye, which can be great for a cocktail or a quick shot, but not as great for sipping and whisky appreciation.

*I kid. I love Canada, and I’ve been there many times. Toronto is one of my favorite cities in North America. Also, I practically am Canadian, at least a little bit, as both of my maternal grandparents were born in Canada. I’m sure there are plenty of other things that Canada is known for, I just can’t think of them at the moment. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Canadian whisky, The Whiskey Wash has published an informative article on the subject. And for even more info, check out Canadian whisky expert Davin de Kergommeaux’s excellent Canadian Whisky website.

I personally don’t drink much Canadian whisky, but recently one of my favorite liquor stores, Elixir Spirits in Spring Hill, TN, picked out a single barrel of Crown Royal. The Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel series is the Canadian whisky maker’s first foray into single barrel whisky. Elixir has a well-earned reputation for picking out excellent single barrel whiskies, and after trying a sample in the store, I was impressed enough to buy a bottle.

In general, unlike US distilleries, Canadian whisky makers do not use mash bills. In Canada each grain type is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, and matured separately, and only then mingled together as mature whisky. American distillers combine their grains before making whisky. Canadian distillers combine them afterwards. It’s weird. But the Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel series is an exception, as it was made from a mash bill of 64% corn, 31.5% rye, and 4.5% malted barley, which, were it made and aged in the US, would qualify as bourbon. So this whisky is certainly bourbon-like, yet not bourbon. Let’s see how it tastes.

Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Review

Type: Canadian Whisky
Region: Canada
ABV: 51.5%

Nose

Butterscotch. Orange creamsicle. Tropical fruit syrup. Spices. Maple. A touch of bacon.

Palate

Caramel sauce. Loads of caramel… you might describe this whisky as a caramel bomb, but there’s more to be found here too. Maple glaze. Spiced apple cider. Fruit jam. Orange marmalade. Vanilla pudding. White chocolate. Fresh mint. A hint of celery(?). Huckleberry lollipop. Rye spice. Gingerbread cookies. Apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Crème brûlée. Bourbon-like, but lighter—much less barrel influence than your typical bourbon.

Finish

Vanilla. Maple syrup. Orange marmalade. Somewhat short.

Overall

Wow, this is really good. Surprisingly good. This is not your father’s Crown Royal—this is good sipping whisky, which is something you can’t say about many Canadian whiskies. Seriously, this is better than most bourbons I’ve had in the last year. It’s loaded with fall flavors—this is just about the perfect whisky for autumn. As the leaves change color and fall to the ground, you can’t ask for a better whisky to sip.

This is what bourbon would (probably) taste like if it were aged in a colder climate. This basically is bourbon in all but name… as I mentioned earlier, if this were produced in the US, it would qualify as bourbon. I’ve read a few other reviews online of Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrels that suggest that this may be younger whisky due to the lack of oak influence, but I would tend to disagree with that assessment. Although I don’t know how old this whisky actually is*, it is not immature. There is no harshness, no off notes, nothing to suggest it is all that young. Sure, there is far less oak influence than what you find in a mature bourbon, but that is simply due to the fact that this was aged in a colder climate than where most bourbons are aged.

The palate on this whisky is superb. Sweet with plenty of depth, although I do wish there was a bit more rye spice to balance out the sweetness. It’s a little odd that the rye isn’t more noticeable with a mash bill of 31.5% rye, but this is delicious nonetheless. The only thing really holding this back is the short finish.

*UPDATE: Shortly after posting this review, I was sent the specifics of this particular barrel. It was barreled on December 7, 2007, and aged nine years before being bottled. So nine years old… right about what I figured. Some more info: The distillation proof was ~94% ABV, and the barreling proof was 63% ABV. It was stored in warehouse 45 in Gimli, Manitoba, which apparently was a new warehouse at the time. 

SCORE: 89/100

Final Thoughts

I can’t believe how much I like this whisky. I mean, it’s freaking Crown Royal. This is almost certainly the best Canadian whisky I’ve had, and it’s one of the best North American whiskies I’ve had this year. This is a single barrel whisky, so I don’t know if this is truly representative of all bottles of Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel or if this is an outlier, but I imagine that other barrels are going to produce similar flavor profiles. If you are a bourbon-lover looking for something slightly different (although not too different), then give this a try.

Buy again? Yes. This is delicious and very affordable. I plan to buy another bottle. If you’re near Spring Hill, TN, be sure to stop by Elixir and give this a try.

Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.

For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.

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